7/30/16

I found this image several years ago. It reminded me of a couple summers as a child when my family lived in Maryland while my dad worked in D.C.

Two summers in a row we went to Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks and stayed at a lovely little cabin that was right along the shoreline. It had a screened in porch where I slept and a lawn which ran down to the lake. There was also a small dock with a couple of rowboats.

I spent my days floating on the water on an inflatable air mattress, sitting on the lawn reading books and coloring books, and going for rides in the boat. Just as in this photo there was a bridge to the left of where we stayed.

On one occasion after I'd gotten out of swimming in the lake and laid down on the lawn I was told by my dad to stay perfectly still. I had no idea what was going on but knew it wasn't good from the sound of his voice. Turns out I had leeches all over my back. I don't remember how they got them off of me and I can't say for sure I ever went back in Tupper Lake.

Click on image to see it larger.
This is my contribution for this week's Sepia Saturday post._____

7/26/16

I've said it before and I'll say it again...snapshots of women looking over the shoulder in kitchens is a category. You'll never see a whole book of these shots. Heck, I don't even buy all the ones I've seen and I've seen some really good ones.

There's always one of two reactions: surprise or a slight tinge of annoyance. Okay, occasionally you'll see someone smiling, but having been one of those people to take photos of women in kitchens I can say that it's usually a look that screams, "STOP IT!"

7/23/16

The person who sold this image on ebay said the woman was sitting in a hotel room. There is nothing written on the back to indicate this is true. What do you think indicates it's most likely a hotel room and not just this woman's bedroom?

I think it's a lovely room with the soft light. And if it's a hotel room is she reading a Gideon Bible? I travelled a lot as a kid with many motels coast to coast and a few old hotels. It never failed that I'd find a Gideon Bible in the drawer. Of course I checked for free postcards and stationary first because they were never a given. But the Bible in the nightstand was always there. It actually made me laugh when I was a kid because I wondered who this person Gideon was who kept hiding books in the drawers.

7/22/16

And so we end with the dowager who has set herself up with a court aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth.

It's likely that we're looking at are several widows who spent the money their husbands had acquired during their marriages on this grand adventure. Of course, it's possible they came from money to begin with. Perhaps one of them had worked hard for years to save up for a trip like this and was quite excited to be sitting with such well off folks. They sure didn't dress like this in South Dakota.

Click on image to see it larger.

RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. With her sister ship Queen Mary she provided luxury liner service between Southampton, the United Kingdom, and New York City, the United States, via Cherbourg, France. She was also contracted for over 20 years to carry the Royal Mail as the second half of the two ships' weekly express service.

RMS Queen Elizabeth at Cherbourg, France in 1966.

While being constructed in the mid-1930s by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, she was known as Hull 552 but when launched, on 27 September 1938, she was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth, who was then Queen Consort to King George VI and in 1952 became the Queen Mother. With a design that improved upon that of Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth was a slightly larger ship, the largest passenger liner ever built at that time and for 56 years thereafter. She also has the distinction of being the largest-ever riveted ship by gross tonnage. She first entered service in February 1940 as a troopship in World War II, and it was not until October 1946 that she served in her intended role as an ocean liner.

With the decline in the popularity of the transatlantic route, both ships were replaced by the smaller, more economical Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969. Queen Mary was retired from service on 9 December 1967, and was sold to the city of Long Beach, California, US. Queen Elizabeth was sold to a succession of buyers, most of whom had adventurous and unsuccessful plans for her. Finally she was sold to a Hong Kong businessman, Tung Chao Yung, who intended to convert her into a floating university cruise ship. In 1972, while undergoing refurbishment in Hong Kong harbour, she caught fire under mysterious circumstances and was capsized by the water used to fight the fire. In 1973, her wreck was deemed an obstruction, and she was partially scrapped where she lay. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

where are these people? You'll gradually find out more about what is going on in this photo as the week goes on. No earth shattering discoveries. This photo was taken long ago and I'll leave it to you to guess where the people in all of their finery might be.

7/15/16

This is actually a reposting of a post from July in 2013. It was as close as I could come to this week's Sepia Saturday prompt.

No idea where or when this shot was taken. I can take a guess that it was after 1913 because of the movie that is listed on the signboard.

Click on image to see it larger.

Step back in time and imagine what these ladies might be going to see.

Click on image to see it larger.

You can see Pathe Review on the signboard with "The Chameleon" listed as a film that was showing. This film came out in January of 1913. If you click on the title link above you'll find the following at IMDB: Released in the US as a split reel along with the documentary The Making of Hats.

And perhaps after the show they dropped into the druggist next door to look at the fine Kodak products after having something wonderful to eat at the soda fountain. One can only imagine their conversation after viewing such titillating features.

Mike found the following comedy short which might be one that the ladies saw. Thank you Mike!

UPDATE: Reader AnyJazz has found an article about the theater which provides its location as Benicia, California._____

7/12/16

There is no information as to when this photo was taken, where it was taken, or who these gentlemen were. We can surmise that this photo was proof of a love that in most of the circles of their society had to be kept quiet.

This is a tiny photo measuring 1" x 1.5". A small photo that could be easily hidden in a wallet when it was impossible to display a larger one in a frame in the home.

It's hard to imagine a life where joy and love must be hidden, but if each of us think about it I imagine we can find a time in our life where even in the smallest moment we were outsiders afraid to tell our truth. A life built on lies is wrong both for ourselves and others. We must be kinder to each other.

7/7/16

I could have gone the "legit" way with this week's Sepia Saturday prompt and shown some of my snapshots of people walking down the street taken by those pesky photographers who leapt out and shot them. I chose a different route.

Meet my fifty cent wonder. Yes, I paid a whopping fifty cents for this tiny wonder; and it is tiny. What we have is most likely an arcade photo that this fellow paid perhaps a penny for back around the turn of the 20th century. Some cheap laughs he could keep in his wallet. I have to wonder how such a small piece of paper made it through the last hundred years.

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The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

FORGOTTEN DOLLS at amazon

A journey via vintage snapshots through the world of dolls and their owners from the early part of the 20th century to the 1960s. This is volume 7 in the Tattered and Lost Vernacular Photography series.

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BUCKAROOS AND BUCKARETTES at Amazon

Tattered and Lost: Buckaroos and Buckarettes is a collection of vintage snapshots for those who remember riding the range when they were kids. These adventures usually consisted of sitting in front of a black and white television or running around the neighborhood with our shiny six-guns strapped to our sides. Our imaginations created entire worlds that never existed. We sang along with our heroes, convinced that with a song in our heart and a six-gun on our hip we could vanquish evil. This book is dedicated to all the other buckaroos and buckarettes who rode their imaginations into the sunset while humming Happy Trails. Buy it at Amazon.

CAKES, PICNICS, AND WATERMELON at Amazon

Collecting vintage photographs starts out innocent enough with a few snapshots here and there, but at some point it becomes a bit more obsessive and you find yourself longing for the next image that makes you laugh or ponder the irrefutable confusion of being human. This book, Tattered and Lost: Cakes, Picnics, and Watermelon, the fourth in a series, shows the quirky world of sharing food from the 1890s to the 1970s in the United States. Sit back and enjoy watching people cut cakes (some people do it with such style!), go on picnics without your relatives, and watch people eat watermelon. Yes, eat watermelon. An odd category for sure, but one sure to make you smile. Buy it at Amazon.

Vernacular Photographs at Amazon

Tattered and Lost: Vernacular Photographs, is volume 1 in my self-published books showing photos from my collection. Photographs play off each other on facing pages asking the viewer to come to their own conclusion as to what they are looking at. Included is a photo of the Pennsylvania Railroad S1 steam locomotive, designed by Raymond Loewy, on display at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. And one of the few known copies of a photo taken by Rudolph D’Heureuse in 1863 proving there were indeed camels used by the U. S. Cavalry is included. So take a step back in time and visit with some folks who long ago smiled and said “cheese” never knowing how long those smiles would last. Buy it at Amazon.

TELLING STORIES at Amazon

In need of writing prompts? Looking for a gift for a friend who loves vintage photographs? Tattered and Lost: Telling Stories is now available from CreateSpace and Amazon. Click on the image to find out more! Buy it at Amazon.

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A new and expanded edition of Tattered and Lost: Childhood. Available at CreateSpace and Amazon. Better price, more pages, larger trim size. Click on the image to read more about it. Buy it at Amazon.

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What is Tattered and Lost?

Tattered and Lost is about some of the found and/or vernacular photography in my collection.

Unless you're an incredibly organized person you probably have a few stray photos tucked away that you've forgotten about. No matter how many family members or friends say they love you, sooner or later, a photo of you is going to slip through the cracks and end up in the hands of someone who knows nothing about you. Such are the photos at this site.

THE PHOTOS

Photographs of the ordinary by the ordinary.
All photos are from my private collection. They may NOT be used in any manner without my permission. I retain all copyrights for everything published on this site unless specified as belonging to someone else.